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If you have any bumps and bruises, you can always claim for medical. When a Progressive customer hit me (totally his fault), the agent came to my house the next day to offer me $500 to sign a medical waiver. By then I knew I was not in any pain, so I took the $$ and signed.
Wow. A Progressive customer hit my (parked) car once and the CSRs there could not have been ruder or more unhelpful. Their vehicle repair center is a joke, I had to take my car back there twice to get them to fix it 'all the way', and even then it wasn't totally fixed right. The dealership I bought my car from ended up doing the rest of the repairs gratis. I definitely don't have a good impression of Progressive based on my experience.
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OTOH, when a drunk minor totaled my car, I ended up suing her family b/c I had significant bruises and a chest wall clot. I got $9K but of course the atty took $3K. Still, I felt better. I also sued her for the cost of my rental car as I had to pay out of pocket for a larger vehicle as I felt too bruised to climb into a smaller one. Got that, too.
I hope you've fully recovered; that sounds awful. She (the drunk minor) should be grateful that that's ALL you sued for.
Wow. A Progressive customer hit my (parked) car once and the CSRs there could not have been ruder or more unhelpful. Their vehicle repair center is a joke, I had to take my car back there twice to get them to fix it 'all the way', and even then it wasn't totally fixed right. The dealership I bought my car from ended up doing the rest of the repairs gratis. I definitely don't have a good impression of Progressive based on my experience.
I hope you've fully recovered; that sounds awful. She (the drunk minor) should be grateful that that's ALL you sued for.
Both of my passengers also sued her and we got the max on her policy. She also had to do 3 weekends in jail.
I have never been involved in any accident before, so I seek your wisdom on my situation.
My new car was unfortunately rear ended couple of days ago. The person who hit me(Person A) was at fault and agreed to it. We both pulled up at the nearby parking lot and had him call his insurance company right away near the scene and his insurance company agreed to cover the damages etc after exchanging all information. As a precaution I also called my insurance company and let them know about my situation.
Yesterday Person A's company called me in the morning and gave me the information to get the repair process started by going to the dealership of my choice, which they verified was also in their list. I also asked them to book the rental car reservation and they did (also got a confirmation email for rental).
Once I went to the dealership, one of the service personnel was assigned to my case and he came out and took pictures of the damages. My lift gate was clearly dented, there were some major scratches in other areas as well. I was surprised when he first said they will probably have to "repair" and not replace the dented lift gate. This is on a brand new car with around 2000 miles. Later he agreed that he might be "able to make a case" for replacement since it was new. Up until this point, I was still ok regardless of the hassle I had to go through.
Once the assessment was made and parts identified for replacement/quote developed, the service personnel indicated that they would not be able to work on my car until mid week next week since the parts were not in the facility and they had to order it. He then said they will not be able to provide rental car unless I spoke with them there and confirmed coverage since they only provide it during the actual repair process (My car was indeed drivable). After calling Person A's insurance again from the collision center, they repeated the same lines and threw some laws on my face about the rental policy, which is what aggravated me more. I called up my insurance company and let them know about my situation and they didn't offer any help either and said that their own policy was similar and that I would have to pay for the rental out of pocket for the weekend etc until actual work started on my car.
Since I was already getting delayed (3 hours total after I left home), I just decided to not pursue it there and drove back. This really made me upset as I had to go through a lot of hassle for no fault of mine. The major problem is that this isn't the end of it. I will have to drive again next week and take time off from work to drop the car off. Are there any experts who can comment on my options here? Any legal advice or I am just SOL and have to suck it up.
Thanks for any and all help in advance.
First, you are supposed to get three estimates. Second, sounds like the dealership is working with the insurance company. Third, the insurance business was invented by tyranny. Well, it was invented in order to insure investments in the colonization of the New World against the threat of sinking ships. In other words, insurance companies should never be considered a good thing on your side, but a necessary tyranny.
You need a time out to think this out. If they aren't giving you a rental, then go ahead and withdraw from the present plan you have of fixing your vehicle to better work things out. Slowing things down is never in the best interest of tyranny or the insurance business.
Thanks binkyman. I did not know I could get three estimates! My car is under warranty, so I thought I would have to get it done through the car make dealership itself, so I did not even try anything else.
Do you recommend that I call Farmer's to find out what more options are in their "list"? Should I call other car dealerships and get a quote from them? I don't know if they will not be working with the insurance company either though
Thanks binkyman. I did not know I could get three estimates! My car is under warranty, so I thought I would have to get it done through the car make dealership itself, so I did not even try anything else.
Do you recommend that I call Farmer's to find out what more options are in their "list"? Should I call other car dealerships and get a quote from them? I don't know if they will not be working with the insurance company either though
First off, I've always heard that dealerships don't use bondo. It sounds to me like he thinks they can buff out the scratches and just repaint it. He also sounds like he is thinking they can just adjust out the back door to where it will close.
I once drove a little ways with my rear hatch open and, hitting some bumps, it bent the hinges to where the door wouldn't close. But, in your case, something is wrong with the door. So, even if he did manage to adjust thhe hinges to get the door to close, it would still be bent somewhere. The only solution is to replace the door and the hinges. But be careful, the mechanic might try to order the new door and then try to fix the old one passing it off as good as new. Then, sometime in the future, he could cash in on the new door.
Figure that door costs a few thousand dollars.
Also figure that even if they did manage to adjust the hinges making the door fit, it would always go back to developing a problem. And, if you decided to trade that vehicle in for another make and model in the future, the other dealership won't be very appreciative of the work done to fix your car.
Your car may not have any dents, but it surely is bent somewhere to the extent that it won't close. So as good as new would be replacing the door and the hinges and getting it all repainted.
My 2008 Tribeca was hit in the rear hatch door by an inattentive driver; he had some kind of plow attachment on his front bumper and it hit just above the door edge, leaving a crease. The dealer fixed it, don't know how, but the crease was gone and repainted so I could not tell where it had been. I know I didn't get a new door. The door operates just fine 2 yrs later.
But be careful, the mechanic might try to order the new door and then try to fix the old one passing it off as good as new. Then, sometime in the future, he could cash in on the new door.
Figure that door costs a few thousand dollars.
After reading your post, I tried to come up plans to make sure this doesn't happen. I called the car main corporate office to find out where to find a serial number (not part number), they said they don't have it. So I asked the dealership to make arrangements for me to pick up all replaced parts after the repair, which they did. Problem solved.
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Also figure that even if they did manage to adjust the hinges making the door fit, it would always go back to developing a problem. And, if you decided to trade that vehicle in for another make and model in the future, the other dealership won't be very appreciative of the work done to fix your car.
Your car may not have any dents, but it surely is bent somewhere to the extent that it won't close. So as good as new would be replacing the door and the hinges and getting it all repainted.
It wasn't the main door really, I may have described it incorrectly. It was the lift gate are the rear bumper. Either way I have about $1500 car parts that are just minor repairs away from being usable again
I still hated the whole experience, just like anyone else. I don't trust these dealerships as they get to do the work on these without us being present, so really they can do whatever they want.
All, thanks for your suggestions and posts. I appreciate it.
Hi Libra 20- Also a Libra here...and an auto insurance adjuster:
I got to this late so everyone pretty much hit on what I would have said: if the car is driveable (safely) then the insurance company will not pay for rental while your car sits there on the lot just waiting for parts. This is just good business sense, and and not one of us would not pay needlessly if we owned our own business right?
The body shop is paid by the insurance company. If a body shop does something that I, as an adjuster, do not approve, then the body shop does not get paid for it. The CSR probably got on the phone with the adjuster, sending photos and estimate as they discussed and the adjuster told him that they would pay for x, y but not z. They worked on the estimate, then came to an agreement, and that includes the rental car issue. The adjuster had to make the rental car reservation and get your car inspected asap, as there is no way to know form an initial phone call if your vehicle was safely driveable until it was inspected. What if the lift gate was about to pop open? Or you had no tail lamp? That would not be considereed "safely drivebale", and then you would have been instructed to leave your car there instead.
As far as missing work, etc- believe me you are not the first or last to have that complaint- any auto accident is an inconvenience. It is my personal opinon (nothing to do with being an adjuster, always had this opinion) that when a person chooses to drive a vehicle, he is choosing a certain amount of inconvenience, and choosing to take on a certain amount of risk. There is one accident every 7 seconds in the DFW metro area (this could be an old number, so correct me if you find new stats). With that ratio, all of us are at major risk each time we get into a car. At some point in life, we really all need to put on our big boy/girl panties and understand that when we accpet a grown up life, we have grown up issues, including doing taxes, paying mortgages, keeping our kids alive, and sometimes losing a job, losing our house, and yes, getting into an auto accident. No one means to cause an accident (and if they did do it on purpose it would not be covered), and any of us could make a mistake. Any of us could also fall victim to someone else's mistake because we chose to be on the road.
However, if the adjuster failed to tell you that if your car is driveable, you will leave in your car until the parts are in, that was a fallacy of that adjuster. I don't like my phone to ring, and I certainly don't like my phone to ring with angry customers, so I tell them eeverything that I anticipate might bring about an inconvenience for them. An adjuster has about 200 customers they are helping all at one time, and about 50 calls per day. I am sure he/she just overlooked telling you about that, and I apologize OBO all adjusters.
The only way you will get paid from missed time at work is to go to the doctor and say you were injured and had to miss work (in which case you are missing work again, so may be futile).
Police-they will likely not come unless there are extenuatng circumstance such as injury, altercation, drunkeness, etc.
You did all the right things by informing both insurance companies and following the rules. Also, if you car is the same model year (built newer than August of 2012) they will not put anything but brand new parts on the car for parts that have to be replaced, so no worrieds there. However, if there is a part that is repairable, it will be repaired. That is better for the future value of your car anyway.
I had a one year old car wrecked once and the adjuster wouldn't total it. Needless to say, as they got into it all kinds of additional problems were found. It cost them more than they thought and I was left with a vehicle that had forever lost its value. When I tried to trade it in I couldn't get near the book value. All of them could tell the car had been in a major collision. I worked inside an insurance company for 11 years and read many a file in my spare time. They are not your friend. When my neighbor backed into my parked car his adjuster called me and told me they weren't going to pay because the dent didn't line up with their customer's bumper. She didn't know an officer had come out, and it was he that investigated and discovered that my neighbor was the culprit in the first place.
"That's funny," I said. "The officer said the dent lined up." She stumbled, "Oh, did a officer come out?" She got off the phone quickly and a few days later I got a check in the mail.
Last edited by Ablebodied; 08-23-2013 at 11:44 PM..
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